Today the GIVE girls had three simultaneous chesseds going on at once in the morning. The first small group went to an organization called Zichron Menachem. There they had the opportunity to create and celebrate a bat mitzvah for a girl with cancer. The girl’s bat mitzvah was canceled, so the GIVE girls had the privilege of making and being a part of her simcha. At the same time, another group of girls went to food package  in Yad Ezra for the poor. Lastly, at the same time another group went to Susanart, an art studio where they teach kids on the street a trade in art. The girls toured, learned, and had the opportunity to shop around as well. Afterwards, we all came back together for a delicious lunch in Gan Sacher. Together, we all made our way to Yad Vashem, which is a memorial commemorating the Holocaust. After the tour of Yad Vashem, we made our back to Mevaseret and had a program called “Ask the Rabbi.” Rabbi Katz from MMY came to have a question and answer session, where the girls were able to ask the anything on their minds. Lastly, the end of the day we had a chagiga hosted by Shlock Rock! The girls had a full and accomplished day with a ‘Rockin’ ending!

Hello everyone! I’m Aviva Reichman from Silver Spring, Maryland! As I’m sure you all know, last night and today was Tisha B’av. Personally, the mourning of Tisha B’av has always been a distant  pain. But this year, that has changed. We began the fast with a Seudat Hamafseket,, during which we were told to sit alone and put ourselves in the right state of mind. After the symbolic meal, we went to the Beit Midrash to hear from our madricha, Miriam Borenstien. She spoke passionately about how dearly she hoped this would be Am Yisrael’s last Tisha B’av in mourning- the perfect words to precede Rabbi Felberman’s reading of Megilat Eicha. We proceeded downstairs to our first program of the night. An NCSY alumnus,  Nicole Grubner, took on the role of a “Jewish History Museum Tour Guide”, and showed us a few videos about all of the hardships of our nation’s past. Following the videos, she revealed to us that she, a young woman in the year 2070 was the last standing Jew. As many of her ancestors began to loosen up on their observance of Mitzvot, their continuation of the Jewish legacy and tradition withered away. Her solitude was the result of the lack of devotion of the Jews before her. This was a true eye-opener. After this program, she told us about her personal NCSY story. From her years of disregarding Judaism, to her present observance, she has always kept NCSY dear to her heart. We then went to our next program. This consisted of a room full of tables with art supplies and pictures of various terrorist attacks and Jewish persecutions. We used the supplies on the tables to depict the emotions we had felt during a tragic time in our lives.It was interesting to look around and see the variety of pictures drawn by the girls. The last part of the night was a kumzitz. Between songs, girls would stand up and read the biography of one of the 64 fallen soldiers. This was the emotional high of the night, as we all prayed through the language of song. After wake up and davening, we recited some Kinot. Before each one, an advisor would stand in the middle of our circle and inform us about their kinah. Sometimes they would include a personal story, or a reason as to why they chose that specific kinah. This was followed by three hours of free time. This included an optional shiur and Holocaust movie. We then boarded the buses to the Kotel. Although, it was hard not to engage in conversation with all the other programs present, it remained a truly spiritual experience. Seeing the throngs of various types of people at the holy place was already beautiful enough, but when NCSY Kollel started a kumzitz, it brought things to a new level. Strangers joined from all over and showed the potential Am Yisrael has when it joins together. To break our fast, we went along with various other programs to a beautiful restaurant in Jerusalem.  We had a delicious meal to put an end to our busy day.

As beautiful as it was to truly feel the loss of the Temple, we truly hope that next year Tisha B’av will be a source of celebration for the rebuilding of the Third Temple 🙂
Thank you for reading!

Hi I’m Jillian Sperber! I’m 17 and from the ghetto West Orange, NJ.  I am about to recap today, just one day of the BEST. SUMMER. EVER.  It was a really chill day, but full of growth and experience.  We started off our morning waking up bright and early at the five star Mevaseret.  Right after davening and breakfast, we went straight onto the buses and headed to Retorno, a rehab center for teens and adults in Israel.  We were spoken to by two staff members and one patient about the program, and we were educated on various topics.  Following, we had a delicious lunch filled of falafal, and we loaded back onto the buses.  We made a stop at an army base and handed out snacks we prepared last night.  We always love visiting he chayalim, so it was a great experience for all of us.  Then, we went to Kever Rachel and davened mincha.  We headed back home to prepare for Tish Ba’av and I’m hoping for everyone to have a meaningful fast.

Shalom!
Chani Boczko and Mercedes Essebag here from Woodmere, NY and Toronto, Canada. This morning NCSY GIVE came back from our off weekend in Israel. All of us got a chance to visit relatives or friends whom we’ve been waiting to see. When we got back from our off weekend we joined together and headed off to independence park to eat a delicious lunch from Holy Bagel (yum.) Then we went to “Time Elevator,” which is a 4d movie that displays Jerusalem’s history. We then hopped on the buses and traveled to sunny Beit Shemesh. We were split into two groups and made carnivals for Ethiopian kids from under privileged homes. We played sports, danced, arts and crafts, relay raced, and so much more! Through bonding with these kids, we developed relationships and grew a lot through the experience. We then drove back to Mevaseret and heard from Rabbi Nissel about mashiach (oy oy oy oy oy.) We then had a delicious dinner and are ready for our exciting night activity!
WE LOVE GIVE WOOHOOO

The night activity was a beautiful tribute to our soldiers that defend our country. We learned about gratitude of the things and people we should be thankful for in our lives. Tomorrow we have the exciting opportunity to go to a rest stop in Gush Etzion and give out baked goods to soldiers on the way home or too their bases. The girls made desserts for the soldiers tomorrow, and looking forward to the exciting opportunity to help Am Yisroel.

The last day before our free weekend was jam packed! We started our day by splitting the buses that went to two different chesseds. One bus went to a nursing home to get to know, sing, and dance with the residents of the home. They sang pre-shabbos songs to help them bring a smile to their faces while prepping them for Shabbos Kodesh. The second bus went to a very special place called Susanart. This is a place that takes children off the street and teaches them how to craft. They tell them if they continue making the crafts they can make some money. This is an organization that helps the young teens of Israel, which the girls related to a lot. Afterwards we went to The Temple Mount Archeological Dig. The girls had an opportunity to learn about the Jewish history of Temple Mount, and even search for coins, pots, mosaics, and more. Then we had a delicious lunch and made our way to Maalah, which is a film school for religious and secular students of Israel. the GIVE girls had the privilege of watching two short films, one being an award winning film. They had a discussion about the plot lines with the editor of these films and learned a little about the industry in Israel. Then after our wonderful and exciting day we sadly said goodbye for the weekend. The girls were dropped off by the OU center, and were picked up by their hosts. We hope everyone has a wonderful Shabbos and can’t wait to catch up after the weekend! Shabbat Shalom!

Hi my name is Tova Asher and I am from Atlanta, Georgia. This is my first time in Israel so, today was a very special day for me. After three long weeks of yearning for the day we would be able to enter Jerusalem, we were finally able to! Before we were able to go, we stopped to pay a shiva call to a family who lost their son in the war. Although, we had no relation to this soldier, I could tell we made all the difference to the mourning parents. As a group of girls from all over, we came together to show our support as Klal Yisorael often does for each other. After this, we made our way to the long-awaited Jerusalem. The beauty of the city was jaw dropping. Soon after arriving, all of the first timers were blindfolded and escorted through the city as we made our way to the Kotel. Once we arrived, one by one we removed our bandanas and  took in the beautiful site. Although, I have been learning about Israel my whole life, no amount of preparation could have  prepared  me  for what I saw. For the first time, everything I have learned about for the past 11 years became real. I was able to feel the holiness of this site, and finally understood what everyone meant by “…you’ll see when you go to the Kotel.” After experiencing such a spiritual high, we then went to Chezkiyahu’s tunnels. It was mind-blowing  to know that I was walking through the same tunnels that my own nation had used many years ago. I also enjoyed learning about the City of David while touring the ruins of the city. While walking around, all I could think about was the fact that this was the same place the Jewish people lived during the time of King David, yet we continue to carry out this legacy for generations to come. We then made our way to Meveseret, our base, and had dinner there. This was definitely a memorable day and I’ll always attribute spiritual growth when looking back in years to come.

Hi! My name is Yehudis Ash from Cedarhurst, New York and I’m having the summer of my life on GIVE!! Yesterday, in particular was one of the best days of the summer so far. We started off the day traveling to an army base called Machane Oz. We gave out Ben and Jerry’s ice cream toall  the soldiers on reserve at their base. To quote one of the soldiers, “they had been moping around all morning. When the GIVE girls came with their ice cream and smiles, it really made their day and they were THRILLED.” After the army base, we had our first falafel lunch of the summer in a beautiful, natural springs park. Then, we left for a community for special needs adolescents and adults called Nivei Kineret. Personally, it was the most amazing experience of my life. The residents put on a performance for us, which was INCREDIBLE. The show lasted 45 minutes and was everything from singing classic hebrew songs to modern day dancing. Everyone was in tears listening to these young adults sing about hope in Hashem and was so moved by their performance. After the show we split up into two groups. One group went to play sports with some of the residents, and the other group went on a walk with the rest of them. I was in the second group, and we all paired up with a resident from the community and took them to a field not far from the sports games. We sang songs with them and played games. Even though many of them were not verbal, you could tell by the looks on their faces just how happy we made them. When we left after saying mincha there, they were all waving at us and looking genuinely sad that we were leaving. Some of the residents  kept shouting “L’Hitraot!” over and over again. When we returned to the hotel we had some chill time before night activity. NIght activity started off with a game of gaga, advisors vs. campers. Campers obviously won every round (partially due to the fact that we outnumbered them..). And then after the game, Alexa and Jenny introduced a tehillim initiative we will be starting on GIVE for the continued safety of Am Yisrael. We all got to sign up for perakim of tehillim, and we hope to be able to finish the whole sefer as a GIVE family! And then, the highlight of everyone’s night was when Erin got a call from “David Cutler”, which turned out just to be her way of breaking out to us that we’re going to YERUSHALYIM on WEDNESDAY I”YH!!! There were screams and tears all around the room, and everyone really felt that their tefilot had been answered. We can’t wait for more amazing days to come, in the holy city of Yerushalayim!